Masquerade
by Shalkan's Rider
Summary: Years have passed, and now, during a summit between all the leaders of the world, shinobi and regular, Temari meets a mysterious man in a mask. Loosely based on Sherwood Smith's 'Court Duel'.
1. Chapter 1: Masks

Temari stood in the crowd of people; furious, embarressed, awkward, and altogether unhappy. Her purple kimono hugged her body, restricting her movement very much like the matching mask that restricted her eyesight.

She wasn't one who was particularly fond of formal events. Especially not when she was Chief Advisor to the Kazekage and therefore had people walking up to her every few moments to tell her something _dreadfully_ importent. The worst part was that it was a masquerade. so she had no clue who was talking to her (well, if they had decent masks) and yet they all seemed to know who she was. _Why the hell am I here again?_ Oh right. Because all the daimyo's and kage's were holding a summit in order to try and establish greater peace in the world. Like that was going to happen. "Ah, Temari-san?"

She turned to see a face she could identify through the mask, the Prince of the Land of Lightning. He had a crush on her, and it was starting to rub her the wrong way.

"Yes Hiromu?" She inquired politely. She hoped she didn't have to destroy his hopes for love. She'd been doing that with too many hopefuls, but she liked Hiromu and didn't want to be the one to break his heart. He bowed, the tips of the feathers that graced his mask brushing her elegent kimono.

"My father would like to know if you will be attending the meeting on agriculture tomorrow afternoon?" _Thank God. He's not confessing to me._ She thought for a moment.

"I believe so, but I'm not entirely certain. It depends on what the kazekage wishes for me to do. Please thank your father for thinking of me." He bowed to her once more before walking away.

Temari looked around her. She was in a sea of expensive. Jeweled kimonos decorated in complex embroideries, Feathered masks with even more gems; masks that had most likely cost more then she made in a year, and yet would never be worn again. It was a sickening waste of resources and money, one that she dispised. Someone tapped on her shoulder.

"A moment of your time, Temari-sama?" A sleazy voice asked. She spun around only to be hit by a whiff of alchohal. Alchohal meant this was a daimyo's man, few ninja drank, especially when there were so many potential enemies around. She paused to control her gag reflex before answering.

"Of course, what can I do for you?" Her voice was sickly sweet. The man leered from behind his exceedingly bejeweled mask.

"I think there's a lot you can do for me," his eyes slid away from her face, traveling down her body, then snapped back up to her face, the leer replaced by primal hunger. Temari's blood boiled. She chafed at the fact that she couldn't slap him into tomorrow; unfortunatly that was considered undiplomatic. But before she could respond a hand appeared on the man's arm.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt," A deep, cultured voice said. "But I was hoping I might get a dance from the charming lady in the purple mask." The man in the black mask froze, pain evident on his face. The hand was obviously much stronger than it looked. He muttered some excuse and fled, revealing Temari's savior to her.

He was taller then her by about half a head, the dark greem kimono he wore and his excellent posture accenting his height. His kimono was similar in style to those of almost everyone there, except his brushed the ground and hid soft boots which she saw as he shifted. His hands were also gloved, making her wonder what he had to hide. Long black hair hung down to his shoulders from behind his mask, a style that differed from every other man she'd seen. Most had their's intricately braided, or pulled up; his hung undecorated around his face. His face was the most intriguing detail of his. The green of his mask matched that of his kimono, and was completely undecorated save for a few elegent golden-brown lines that ran around the mask randomly, yet somehow expressing a picture she couldn't understand. But what had shocked her slightly was that there were no eyeholes in his mask; she couldn't see any detail of his face from the nose up. _How does he see?_ But she recovered from that minor shock, as the relief flooded over her.

"Thank you," she said. "I was trying to find an ... uh ... appropriate response to his... statement," He chuckled. It was smooth and deep, and she felt almost entranced by it.

"I'd say my pleasure, but I truly hope I never have to do that again." He smiled. "And if it we were in any other situation you would not have needed me; I'm sure you could've handled him yourself easily." She smiled at that. It was true. "Anyways," he continued. "I was planning on asking you for a dance, your friend just happened to give me a good reason to." He held out a gloved hand to her. "May I have this dance, Temari-san?" She gave him a mock curtsy.

"Of course," she simpered in her best imitation of one of the many thoughtless, materialistic court ladies that decorated the hall where the masquerade was held. He laughed in response.

"Well if you use that voice then I'm afraid this dance is over before we even begin it," Temari grinned. Finally, someone who didn't fall all over her just because she was Gaara's sister and advisor. Here was someone willing to play the games of words she loved. He led her out onto the floor, and began spinning her around the circle to the beat of a viennese waltz. They bantered a bit, shooting jibes back and forth Temari finding herself enjoying the dance more then she expected. She wasn't one who went dancing often, and had thought she would despise the dancing at the balls she would have to attend during the peace summit. So far she had, but this was a welcome change. As a lull came into their conversation, a question that had been bothering her came to mind.

"How come everyone, including you, seems to know who I am?" Her partner spun her before answering.

"A beautiful lady like yourself, of course everyone did their best to discover who you were. process of elimination helped." She decided to play along.

"How?"

"You outshine every woman here." She arched an eyebrow at his response. He smirked.

"How could you really tell? It's driving me crazy?" She asked him, letting exasperation creep into her voice. His smirk became a grin.

"Temari no Sabaku is famous for her love of purple, her hair the color of sand, and her piercing green eyes. She's also known for her grace and poise." He waved a hand indicating the ballroom as a whole. "How many other people do you see here wearing purple, let alone fulfilling the rest of the requirements?" She looked around. She did stand out, going by what he had just said.

"But why go to all that trouble just to find me?" She wondered out loud. As her masked partner dipped her down to the floor he answered.

"Everyone wants to dance with a beautiful woman like you," his voice was as smooth as his words. Temari blushed. Wait. She was blushing? She couldn't believe it. She couldn't think of a single other time when the blood had rushed to her cheeks as much as it did now. And then the song ended. Her partner spun her so that they were facing each other. A gentle smile appeared his face.

"May I have another dance?" He asked, his voice now soft. She was about to say yes when another voice interrupted.

"Actually, if you don't mind, I was hoping to dance with her myself," they turned to see Gaara, dressed in a royal blue kimono standing there.

"Of course Kazekage-sama," The green-clothed man replied as he bowed to her brother. "I didn't mean to hog Temari-san." He took her hand and bowed over it, brushing it lightly with his lips as he did so. "Good night, Temari-san." He turned his covered face up towards hers and she felt his gaze. They stood like that for a moment, staring at each other, until he abruptly stood up and walked away. Temari followed him with her eyes until he dissapeared into the crowd. Gaara cleared his throat. She jumped turning towards him.

"Oh, I'm sorry Gaara, you wanted to dance?" Her brother nodded solemnly. They began to move about the circle once more, this time to a slow waltz. It was a little while before Gaara interrupted the silence.

"You seemed to enjoy that man's company," he stated rather then asked. Temari thought about it.

"Yes," she answered his unspoken question. "I enjoyed it because he treated me as _me_, not as your something." Silence once more.

"I'm glad," her brother's even voice said. "I know how much you hate these things and being here in general, so I'm glad you found some enjoyment." He thought for a moment. "If you wish, at the end of this dance you can retire to your room, you don't have to be here all night." For the second time that evening relief washed over her.

"_Thank_ you Gaara," she said, meaning it deeply. He chuckled at her enthusiasm to leave. The waltz came to a close.

"Good night sister," he said.

"Good night brother," she replied before slipping away through the crowd, using the skills she had mastered as a shinobi to avoid detection. As she exited through the grand entrence to the hall, she didn't notice a man in green follow her out.


	2. Chapter 2: Gifts

Temari collapsed on her bed, soon followed by the soft footsteps of her maid, Kana.

"Is there anything I can do for you Temari-sama?" her quiet voice was pleasant to Temari's ears. Temari flipped over so she could stare at the ceiling.

"Would you mind drawing me a bath?"

"Not at all. A few minutes please."

"Thank you." Kana started for the door, but paused at the threshold.

"I don't mean to pry Temari-sama, but did you enjoy the masquerade? You're glowing." Temari smiled. Kana was always desperately curious as to what the parties and events were like, but didn't hear much from Temari. She knew that Kana wouldn't gossip about anything she was told, and Temari was filled with a strange energy that was encouraging her to talk about the man she had danced with.

"It was quite boring," Temari saw Kana's face fall. "Except for the man who took care of an official that was harassing me, then danced with me." Kana's face brightened. When she spoke though, her excitement didn't show.

"That's quite nice Temari-sama. I'll take care of your bath now." Kana's footsteps left the room, heading into the private bathroom that was part of the suite she occupied.

What she had told Kana was the truth. The night had been tedious, and boring, not to mention a drunk man tried to get her to sleep with him. She should've been in a horrid mood, but for some reason she felt great. She knew why. The man. With him she had felt relaxed and comfortable, unusual for her when she was in a political setting. Unfortunately she didn't know his name, or anything else about him. Only that he was a wonderful dancer and the only person not from Suna who she could stand. It was strange how he hadn't introduced himself, especially since they were talking so amicably and they were not previously acquainted. Kana returned.

"Your bath is ready Temari-sama." Temari groaned as she pulled herself up, then shed her clothes and stepped into the steaming bath.

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Temari stepped back into her room after her bath, a short silk robe (purple of course) draped around her body. Yawning, she headed to her desk to deal with some of the paperwork she was responsible for during the conference. That was what half these events were; paperwork. As she approached her desk she saw something sitting there, something that hadn't been there before. Instinct told her to step back and test it. Curiosity told her to turn the light on. What she saw surprised her.

On her desk sat a dark green mask riddled with golden-brown lines, forming a familiar pattern. The mask had no eye holes, and Temari knew that her mysterious friend had sent it. Leaning on the mask was a desert lily, her favorite, the familiar flower reminding her of home. She brought the lily to her nose and sniffed it. The sweet scent washed over her and she closed her eyes in bliss. Curious as to how the mask worked, she lifted it to her face.

The mask, she found out, was made of glass, the inner side covered with silk so as to protect the wearer's face. The eye holes were simply pieces of one-way glass, and when she looked through them she found she could see quite clearly. It was an expensive mask, with excellent craftsmanship, most likely an heirloom. She'd never seen anything like it. And the man had given it to her.

But why? Why had her masked man sent her these symbols of... romance? And who was he? How could she respond to such a gesture without knowing who he was? Unless...

"Kana!" She called out. She saw her maid's face appear around the edge of the door frame before entering.

"Yes?" Temari gestured towards the gifts.

"How did these get here? Who brought them." It took Kana a moment to remember.

"A runner. I asked him if there was a note, but he said no." Temari frowned. A runner. One of the many messengers who traveled the palace where they were staying. They delivered notes, packages, papers; anything that needed to be given to a person could reach them by a runner.

"Could we ask them who sent this?" Temari questioned Kana.

"No!" Temari was shocked by Kana's shout. Kana blushed. "I'm sorry Temari-sama, but the runners are very proud of their secrecy. To ask them to divulge such information would be a great insult." Temari swore internally. How was she to contact him? An idea came to mind.

"Kana, could we send something back to a person through the runners, as long as we don't inquire as to the person's identity?" Kana tilted her head to one side as she contemplated this.

"That should be fine. What would you like sent?" Temari blinked. She hadn't thought that far ahead.

"I guess I'll write a letter, it seems to be a good place to start." Kana nodded and left the room, searching for a runner. Temari sat down at her desk and pulled out a slip of paper with a pen, musing over what to write.

_Dear _

Well that seemed like a good place to start. Now what? How should she refer to someone if she had no clue what his name was? He was an unknown. Wait.

_Dear Unknown_

Well. That was progress. But what did she actually want to say? How did she express the fact that so far he was the highlight of the conference for her?

_Dear Unknown_

_Thank you for your assistance last night in dealing with my friend as you so graciously put it._

Should she express interest in his identity? Should she ask to meet him again?

_Dear Unknown_

_Thank you for your assistance last night in dealing with my friend as you so graciously put it. I greatly enjoyed the time we spent together last night. Perhaps we could meet again? At the least I would like to know the name of the man I danced with last night, if you don't mind sharing that with me._

_Temari no Sabaku_

It would have to do.

"Kana?" She called out again. Once more the familiar face appeared.

"I found a runner, and he said that he would be glad to run your reply back to the sender of the original message." Temari sighed in relief. She didn't quite understand why, but she desperately wanted to know the identity of her man. _Her _man? What claim did she have on him? But for some reason, Temari felt the flower and mask meant something more then just a gift, as if the man was opening a door to something bigger. But why, and what?

"Temari-sama?" Kana's questioning voice broke her reverie.

"Ah, sorry Kana-kun. Here it is," she handed over the note and went back to her thoughts. One was prominent. _What does this all mean?_


	3. Chapter 3: Meetings

Temari woke up, sunlight filtering through her gauze curtains. She stretched and yawned; it was the beginning of the first day of tiresome meetings. Climbing out of bed, she donned her usual kimono, dressing like she would if on active duty, just without the fan. No big weapons or scrolls were allowed during the meetings, although smaller weapons like kunai were. A smell grabbed her attention, and she went to the kitchen, finding a stack of pancakes drowned in syrup waiting for her. Kana stood there, pouring a cup of tea. Temari smiled at her.

"Good morning Kana, thank you for breakfast." she nodded in response, before replying.

"Good morning Temari-sama, it was no trouble. please remember that your first meeting for today is on resources available for shinobi villages, that's in 30 minutes and will take place in the Green Conference Room." Temari groaned.

"Resources is basically economics. I hate dealing with that, its insanely boring."

"Ah, but I have some information which may interest you Temari-sama, perhaps sweeten your day." Temari perked up. If Kana said she'd like the information, it was something good.

"Share Kana, don't be greedy with the gossip." Kana grinned, she liked moments like this.

"Well apparently, the Konoha delegation arrived late afternoon yesterday. They made it just in time for the opening masquerade, and will be attending the meetings today." Temari took a moment to digest this. Most of the delegations had arrived a week or two earlier, in order to settle down and get a feel for who were allies and who were to be watched. Konoha had been conspicuous in its absence, apparently suffering from some hold up before they left. They were also the farthest away, but no one had thought that would be a problem considering the people arriving would be shinobi. They had made it just in time.

"Any knowledge as to why they're late or who's in the group?" Temari hadn't visited Konoha in years, not since Gaara started her as ambassador to more hostile countries and villages. She had been looking forward to this summit as a way to catch up, among the rest of her duties.

"Apparently one of their hokage's chief advisors fell seriously ill, and they needed to find an adequate replacement. It took them a while, but they've arrived. I have no info on who's with them though. You'll find out if you go to the meetings though!" Kana smiled at her, as Temari scowled. She detested the meetings, and Kana had spent half their time there giving her reasons to go, since she had almost bolted back to Suna three times already.

"You should leave for the meeting Temari-sama," Kana alerted her. "The sooner you get there, the sooner you're out of there." Temari sighed.

"I suppose you're right. See you after the meeting then." She rose from her seat at the low table, and headed out into the rich hallway.

The walls were covered with gold designs that expressed the richness of their host. Thick carpet covered the floors, allowing many of the daintier guests to walk around the building in little more than thick socks or soft shoes. Everyone stayed in one building while all the conference rooms were in another, the two connected by a glass bridge that Temari was now crossing. She made her way through more hallways and up an ornate spiral staircase. One more hallway brought her to a set of emerald doors, conspicuously marking the entrance to the Green Conference Room.

Temari pushed the door open, slipping in before her arrival became too pronounced. Once inside, she looked around. This meeting was solely for the shinobi villages, daimyo representatives were not included. The attendees consisted of chief advisors and high ranking officials; the topic of distribution of resources was touchy among the villages, were one strain of metal or source of volcanic rock could make the difference between many weapons, or no weapons. She looked for the representative from Konoha, knowing whoever it was would support her on anything as she would support them. Relations between Konoha and Suna were remarkably strong for villages, which was generally attributed to the close personal relationship between the kages.

Temari quickly spotted the green flak vest, but she couldn't see the face; the representative was standing in a shadowy corner of the room. Temari headed towards the shadow, wanting to make sure the two of them were in agreement before the talks started. The shadow pushed away from the wall as she approached, heading towards her, revealing a tall ponytail and a lazy face, the exception being a pair of remarkably sharp, dark eyes. Temari grinned as she identified the person.

"Yo Nara," she called out softly. She saw a smirk grow on his face.

"Temari no Sabaku, long time no see. Where have you been?" Her grin transformed into her favorite smirk, mirroring his.

"Traveling, Gaara asked me to be ambassador to some of the more ... ah ... difficult nations." Shikamaru nodded understandingly. "What about you? What have you been up to? I know you're not Konoha's liaison to Suna any more, I would've seen you around." He gave me an unreadable look before replying.

"I've been training my genin team." Temari froze for a second.

"When did you make jounin?" His smirk faded to a mournful half smile.

"I applied right after you left after your last trip, I was hoping to make it a pleasant sort of surprise for when you returned, but you were transferred and our paths haven't crossed since." His face brightened. "But that's in the past. Now we're here, together once more against the old farts of the world." Temari laughed. As she looked at the other shinobi in the room, she realized Shikamaru was right, they were the youngest there, everyone else in their 60's or 70's, typical ages for village elders and therefore advisors.

"It'll be just like all those times when we teamed up on the village elders, fighting the senile for the freedom and unity of the youth." This time Shikamaru laughed.

"Younger generations unite!" They both cracked up, earning them a slew of glares from their older associates. This caused Temari to remember something else.

"I thought only advisors were supposed to be at this meeting, how far have you advanced since I last saw you?" A disgruntled look crossed Shikamaru's face.

"Well the last of the old advisors croaked just as the delegation was about to leave. And they said I was supposed to go. But I didn't want to go, especially since my genin team just passed the chunin exams and could use a little guidance as they set out into the world of full fledged ninja. So my esteemed Hokage sent his special, elite ANBU squad to kidnap me. They got the upper hand, knocked me out, and kept me unconscious for about half the trip. When they allowed me to wake up, I tried to escape four times. After the last attempt, they knocked me out again. I only woke up again just before we arrived yesterday." Temari chuckled under her breath.

"What kind of ANBU squad was this? You're smart and reasonably strong, you should've been able to defeat an average ANBU squad."

"My Hokage's not stupid, he surrounded himself with people he trusts. The squad consists of half the Konoha 12." Temari winced.

"I see why you lost." The two of them stared at each other for a moment, before the doors were harshly swung open, bouncing off the walls with a crash. A large man strode in, wearing robes in the color of the host family. He would be presiding over the meeting, and others like him would be covering all the meetings during the summit.

"All right," his booming and slightly nasally voice rang out, resounding off the pale green walls. "Let's get this meeting started. Will the delegates please take their seats." All the occupants moved to the table, settling down like a flock of pigeons. The man continued.

"We will now go around the table. Please state your village of origin, who you are representing, and your name." He nodded to the man at his right. Who stood up.

"I'm from the Land of Lightning, representing the Raikage-" Temari zoned out. The meetings were full of tradition, for instance, they needed to state both where they were from and who they were representing. Didn't that go without saying? If I'm from Suna, I represent the Kazekage; if I'm from the Land of Fire, representing the Daimyo of that land. But tradition is tradition and kami forbid we skimp on tradition. Temari realized it was her turn to speak. She stood up and took a moment to look around at all the other faces, some looking at her with contempt, some with lust, some with boredom.

"I come from Sunagakure, representing the Kazekage Gaara no Sabaku; I am Temari no Sabaku, his chief advisor." She sat down as Shikamaru, who sat next to her, stood up.

"I come from Konoha, representing the Hokage Uzumaki Naruto; I am Nara Shikamaru, his chief advisor." Temari furrowed her brow at that. He should have stated himself as Replacement Chief Advisor considering it wasn't actually his post he was just filling it. She would have to ask him about that later.

The names continued, and Temari felt her eyes droop with boredom. She turned her head to her right to observe Shikamaru, and found him sitting there with an extremely disinterested expression on his face. But when she looked closer she saw a look in his eye she had only seen on his face in battle. She looked under the table to see his hands in their famous shape. She always had wondered what that shape did for him, but never gotten around to asking him. There were a lot of things she had never gotten to in respect to him.

"all right then," the official was speaking again. "Let's begin this meeting on the distribution and availability of resources for the shinobi resources. Who would like to start us off?"

"I would," a mousy shinobi wearing glasses piped up. A desk shinobi, someone who no longer got any action but instead dealt with the mountains of paperwork running a village took.

"The Village Hidden in the Waterfall is lacking in grain, we are struggling with supplying our village with enough food without bleeding the surrounding country dry." Another man stood up, this one strong and fit. The Village in the Land of Rice could perhaps assist you; we lack metal ore to forge some of the more specific weapons our shinobi need."

"Well-" Temari was bored. Meetings had a time limit of three hours, and often went over despite that fact. She decided to pass the time by watching Shikamaru. Not that she wasn't paying attention, she was just able to listen and entertain herself at the same time. Grass and Rice were debating some point about trade with Waterfall, and Shikamaru was drinking in every word. I could basically see the wheels turning in his mind, connecting the dots, disconnecting, moving the facts to find the perfect answer. Then his face settled and a faint air of smugness adorned it.

"Excuse me ladies and gentlemen," his smooth voice cut through the rough din of the other delegates. "Perhaps we could arrange a multiple way trade, for instance-" he proceeded to outline a plan that gave everyone what they wanted. The other shinobi sitting there didn't show much emotion, but Temari caught a slight widening of eyes and extra slack in the jaws. "Will the delegates consider this?" He finished his small speech, with the respectful question, which took any air of superiority out of what he had said. The delegates looked slightly stunned for a moment, before the official recovered.

"Representatives, I think Nara-san has presented us with an excellent plan. Are there any who disagree with this plan?" All the heads around the table shook in a universal no. "Very well then. Nara-san, would you be so kind as to draw up a proposal for your plan, and deliver copies to all of us here as soon as it is finished?"

"No problem at all, I'll get right on it." The men murmured in appreciation.

"All right then," the official silenced the muttering. "I declare this meeting adjourned." Chairs were pushed back, and Temari stretched her back, cracking it after the long hours. Shikamaru had a smirk on his face again.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" SHe asked him, worried as to what he'd say.

"Well," he started, the smirk getting smugger by the second. "That wonderful deal which gives everyone what they wants gives Konoha and Suna an increase in trade; since our alliance provides us with almost all materials we could need, we aren't trading with any of the other countries, just selling and making a tidy profit. I essentially gave Konoha a monopoly on our trees, and Suna a monopoly on rock exports." Temari was surprised, but happy. She hadn't noticed it when he was speaking which meant others hadn't either, but it was a very good thing for their villages.

"And? Why do you look so nasty and smuggish?"

"Because, as you heard, I'm supposed to write a position paper. But writing those things is a drag, so I think I'll dictate it and you'll write it." Temari stared at him.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I just got you this awesome deal, your village is now one of the ones on top. I think you owe me so, write the paper while I dictate." Temari growled under her breath. He was right, a monopoly would bring in so much profit that she did owe him. But she hated writing down what someone else was saying, and he knew it.

"Fine, but I'll make your life miserable while we do it." He grinned.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." The two of them began to walk down the halls.

"Are you going to walk me back to my room?"

"It's the gentleman's duty to escort the lady back to her room. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you because you were all defenseless and alone." She laughed.

"Shut up you chauvinistic pig."

"Ah but-" she cut him off knowing what he was about to say.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." The walked in silence for a moment, before Temari remembered her question.

"Why did you introduce yourself as Chief Advisor to the Hokage? Aren't you just a temporary advisor? Shouldn't you have said that?" He was quiet for a minute, then answered.

"Naruto made me his Chief Advisor as soon as he could. He became Hokage about a year ago, but I had my genin team. As soon as they past the exam, he made me his chief advisor. It was pure coincidence that one of the former advisors got sick before we came here." Temari was shocked.

"You made Chief Advisor? Wow. But didn't you say you were delayed because they had to kidnap you?" Shikamaru grimaced.

"I didn't want to go. Chief Advisor or not. Naruto was considering letting me stay home, but when the old man got sick, well, I had to come. Someone has to baby-sit Naruto." Temari took a moment to digest this. She was so used to being ahead of Shikamaru, that the fact that they were equals made her feel uncertain. Not only were they equals, but he had just done a huge favor for her at the meeting, which put him one up on her. They reached her door.

"So," he stood there. "I will leave you here now. Do you know where the library is?" Temari nodded.

"Yeah, I checked it out my first day here.

"Good. There's a private room for each delegation to use, meet me in Konoha's in three hours? Gotta start that paper some time." Temari glared.

"I'll be there, I'll do it. But I'll be very, very, unhappy." He started to walk down the hall, away from her door.

"Goodbye Temari." He called back over his shoulder, before disappearing from sight around a corner. She walked into her suite sighing at the thought of the relaxation she could now indulge in. Suddenly Kana jumped in front of her.

"Temari-sama!" Temari just blinked at her. Kana was much too energetic. This worried Temari.

"Yes Kana?" She asked cautiously. Kana grinned. That was scary. Kana smiled, she didn't grin.

"You got a letter from a runner soon after you left." Now Temari understood why Kana was grinning. Another mysterious message. She walked into her room and over to her desk, catching sight of a paper lying on it.

_Dear Temari-san_

_It was my pleasure to assist you, although I hope I never have to do so again. It was horrible that that man would act that way to you, especially considering your position at this summit, and I have spoken to our host about making sure such a situation never occurs again. I too enjoyed our dance, and found your company refreshing after all the frivolous court ladies who tend to flock about. If you truly wish to know my name I'll share it, but I think you would be better off not knowing who I am. I'm glad you enjoyed my gifts; the mask is an art of my family. I propose another deal. At the end of the summit I will reclaim my mask from you, and you shall then learn my identity. Do you agree?_

_Best wishes,_

_Unknown, as named by you._

Temari held the letter, reading it over. The man didn't want to reveal his identity, which meant it was either someone she knew or someone she didn't like. Either was puzzling and complicated. But she would respect his wishes, she owed him that. It seemed she was owing a lot of people at this summit, and it was only the beginning. She sat down at her table, drawing a piece of paper over to her, beginning her reply.

_Dear Unknown_

_Thank you for speaking to our host; such an experience is not a pleasant one. I am honored that you would entrust you mask to me; it will be safe. If you wish for your identity to remain a secret until the conclusion of this summit I will respect your wishes. But perhaps not meeting is no reason not to communicate. I would appreciate any intelligent conversation, and quite frankly you seem like a good source. Could we keep up a correspondence by runner?_

_Temari no Sabaku._

"Kana?" She called out as she put her pen down. Like a ghost she appeared. "Please give this to a runner, to go to the same person." Kana nodded before taking the letter and leaving. Temari sighed. What was she doing? She was about to engage in most likely political correspondence with a man she knew nothing about. For all she knew she was being manipulated, anything she said could be used against Suna in talks. But for some reason she trusted this man. She just hoped her trust was well placed.


End file.
